Michael Hann

The world is on fire – yet navel-gazing still reigns in pop

At the Empire, Raye sang about self-esteem and addiction, while at Ally Pally The The offered assorted barbs about Thatcherism

Raye and her band, sounding lithe, sinuous and responsive, at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
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  • Raye

    O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

  • The The

    Alexandra Palace

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You find me in the south of France, holed up in that inn of near perfection called La Colombe d’Or in St Paul de Vence. I escape here twice a year and marvel at how little has changed since the 1950s, when it was Mecca for artists of all types, painters such as Chagall and

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